Housewarming
by Harkpad
Summary: Sometimes Clint is a jerk. Sometimes Tony is a jerk. Sometimes they're both remarkably insightful and kind, too, but that's harder to see. Written for a prompt at avengerkink full prompt inside . Clint starts buying himself presents, so Tony forms a hypothesis and sets out to prove it. What his observations end up yielding manages to surprise him.


**A/N:** This was written for this prompt at avengerkink at Livejournal: Every now and then, rare and infrequent, Clint Barton will buy something he likes. It could be anything from a jacket or a scarf to a couch or an ipod. Everyone will know that he likes this thing because whatever it is he will treat it like it is made of gold, unique and amazing and the best possible thing that he could have ever found. The team find it equally hilarious, confusing and irritating, at least until they realise that Clint just isn't used to buying himself anything, let buying things with no work function, buying things just because he likes them.

Also: real life? Apparently I just ignore real life and write from eleven at night until one in the morning. Whatever works, right?

* * *

After the Chitauri Incident Hawkeye didn't have anywhere to go. Tony wasn't sure if this was the case for Romanov, and he assumed the two assassins had SHIELD quarters, but Tony watched how people treated Barton at SHIELD after everything ended, and he recognized quickly that Romanov wasn't going to tolerate people treating Barton that way for long.

When he offered them each an apartment at the Tower (Bruce and Steve had already accepted theirs), they'd refused, but he gave them each a key card anyway and a few days later JARVIS informed him that Romanov had moved a few boxes worth of possessions in and Barton was at least staying in his apartment every few nights.

A month later, after Tony had been convinced that Barton would probably commit suicide soon and had set JARVIS up to keep close tabs on him at least in the Tower, they had discovered that Phil Coulson wasn't really dead. Tony offered him a key to his own place a few days after the discovery, and Barton had quietly asked for a copy. Tony told JARVIS to stop running surveillance on Barton after that, and a kind of camaraderie that had been missing settled into place for everyone once Coulson moved in.

Then Barton started acting weird and Tony considered reinstating JARVIS' surveillance.

"Did I say you could lay on that?" Clint said as he stepped off the elevator, striding over to the couch and yanking the plush pillow out from under Tony's head.

"Damn, Hawkeye. Touchy much?" Tony said, rolling off the couch and heading for the bar. If he wasn't going to get a nap then he'd get a drink.

"I just got it and I don't need you drooling all over it, all right?" Clint flopped down on the couch and wrapped the pillow, a large, shag purple piece of fluff, against his chest.

"Yeah, well, you might want to take your coat off before you crash this time. Last night Coulson had to wrestle you out of it before he could drag you to your room. And you should have told him how much you liked the pillow before he tried to get you to leave it on the couch. I think he had to put makeup on today before his meetings."

"He did not," Clint said as he stood and shrugged his coat off, letting it fall to the floor. "I didn't hit him that hard."

"Whatever," Tony said as he poured two drinks. He handed one to Clint before he sat down in the opposite chair. "Can we please watch something other than baseball tonight?"

"Nope, Steve should be here any minute with pizza. We have a bet on this game."

"Fine. I'm going down to my lab. Try not to get sauce on your precious pillow." He chuckled as Clint just hugged the damn thing tighter. For an assassin he sure acted like a kid sometimes.

A couple weeks later Clint showed up for movie night with a blanket and he and Coulson curled under it for the movie. It was a big, soft, plaid blanket, something that looked like it belonged in a

Vermont hunting lodge, and Tony was sitting on the couch with them. He tried to be subtle and pull a corner of the blanket onto his lap, but Barton caught him.

"You'd better not spill vodka on my new blanket, Stark."

"What, am I six or something? I don't need a sippy cup, Barton," Tony said as he carefully set his glass down on a nearby coaster.

Barton just glared. When Tony did spill vodka on it about twenty minutes later Barton growled at him and left for the night, taking Coulson and his blanket with him.

Bruce just shrugged and helped himself to more popcorn saying, "He did warn you."

It was when Steve complained about Clint and his new iPod Nano that Tony started to see a pattern.

It was a few weeks after the blanket incident and Tony was just wandering past the gym, since that's all he ever did in terms of the gym. He noticed Steve sitting, though, and that's not something that was usual in the gym, so he poked his head in.

"Rogers, you okay?" he called.

Steve looked up sharply and then deflated a bit. "Yeah. Waiting on Barton."

Tony looked around the gym. "Is he late?" he asked, because Barton and Romanov both had this creepy timing thing that was constantly startling Tony.

Steve stood and came to the door to talk to Tony. He looked exasperated. "No. He was here. He was running on the treadmill and I asked him to spar with me and he said he had to take his new iPing Norton back up to his apartment before we sparred. I told him he could just lay it on the bench but he looked at me like I was crazy and said that something might happen to it if he did that. He said he'd only be a second, but jeez."

Tony was caught between sympathy and hilarious giggles when he figured out that Steve was talking about Clint's new iPod Nano. "He does seem attached to that thing since he got it," he settled on, and Steve nodded.

Just then Clint came back and squeezed past Tony in the doorway. "Hey Stark," he said as he passed.

"Got your tunes secured in your apartment, Barton? Wouldn't want a stranger to get hold of your "I Love Phil" playlist after all."

Clint turned and glared at him for a moment, and then he relaxed and grinned. "It's my 'Stark's my Hero' list you'd like to see, right?"

"You have one of those?" Tony said, feigning seriousness.

Clint just laughed. "Don't fuck with my Nano, Stark. Come on Cap, let's fight."

Tony left them to their self-flagellation and headed back to his lab where Bruce was waiting. As he walked in and saw Bruce fiddling with a robot on the table, he stopped and slapped his head.

"What's wrong, Tony?" Bruce asked, looking up.

"I think Barton gets a new toy with each paycheck," Tony said.

"What?"

"Haven't you noticed? He gets a new toy and gets all crazy about it."

"You mean the blanket?"

"And the pillow. And the iPod."

Bruce shrugged. "Whatever. I think he's funny about his stuff."

"Funny?" Tony was thinking 'dick,' himself.

"Yeah, like a kid after Christmas."

"Hmm." Tony grabbed a drink and they went back to work.

Tony started watching. He couldn't help himself. Anything that showed up as a hypothesis in his brain had to be tested.

It turned out he was off by a bit. It wasn't every paycheck, or at least it seemed the blanket/pillow combo plus the iPod seemed to hold Clint for a while. But it was definitely after a paycheck that the purchases happened, like he was allowing himself one thing when he got paid. It struck Tony as old-fashioned.

The next thing was a book. Not just a novel or something like that, no; a few paychecks later he found Barton curled up under his blanket in the common room with a full-fledged tome in his lap.

"Did you find a collection of vampire romance classics, Barton?" he asked as he sat down with his tablet and a cup of coffee.

Clint didn't even look up or answer and Tony realized after a minute that he just hadn't heard him. He tried again. "Did they put out a compilation of Judy Blume novels, Hawkeye?"

Clint looked up, puzzled. "What? Who? No." He heaved the book up so Tony could see the title. "It's an archery book. It's about the Grayson collection and Coulson said he'd come with me to the museum in Missouri if I still wanted to go after I got the book. It's amazing, and we're going to go in two weeks barring an Avengers mission."

Tony didn't even have the heart to tease him after such an earnest book report. He just nodded and worked on his coffee. Barton sank his head back into the book and was still reading when Tony got up almost an hour later.

When Clint came into the Tower carting a huge box about a month later, Tony decided his hypothesis was right. Barton was buying himself gifts and being generally giddy about them. Of course, he was a little bit wrong again, too.

"Are you smuggling in a boy toy for you and Coulson, or what, Barton?" He said as he passed Clint in the lobby. Bruce was with him and he gave Tony an elbow in the ribs.

"Nosy much, Stark?" Clint replied, setting the large rectangular box on the floor as he waited for the elevator.

"Yes," Tony said simply, and he wandered over and tried to get a look at the box. "You need a hand with whatever?"

Clint gave him an odd look, and then said, "Actually, if you've got a little time. . . "

Tony grinned and said, "Bruce? The readings can wait a little longer, right?" He turned back to Clint after Bruce nodded. "We just went out for food while we waited on the readings, but sure, we can help. What's in the box?"

As the elevator opened Clint pushed the box in and held the door for Tony and Bruce. Tony suddenly noticed that he was dressed in grey dress pants and a green silk shirt, a departure from the usual cargo pants and t-shirt combo he usually sported.

"You and Coulson going out tonight?" he asked as the doors closed. He and Bruce shared a glance as Clint actually blushed at the question and shoved his hands in his pants pockets.

"It's our anniversary. Sort of," he said quietly.

"Sort of?" Bruce asked.

Clint ran his hand through his hair and grinned sheepishly. "Well, it's the anniversary of when he found me and brought me into SHIELD, not really a dating anniversary." He paused and looked at Tony. "I'm kinda hoping to surprise him. He might not remember this date, but it's important to me."

"So is that a gift?" Tony asked, pointing at the box.

Clint nodded. Then he sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "It's a piece of art. I found it online after he babbled about it for a couple months running." He hesitated and looked at Tony. "I've never bought art before, much less tried to hang it in a good spot. Can you guys help me figure out where to put it and to do it right? I don't want to mess it up and put it in the wrong light or something stupid."

Tony thought he might have to give Hawkeye a hug at that moment. Bruce looked like he wanted to do the same thing, and said "Sure, though I'm not much good at it either. Tony'll know where to put it, though."

"Don't tell Pepper you asked me for advice on art, though, Barton. It'll ruin everything," Tony said, and then helped Clint carry the box into the apartment.

It was a beautiful print of a Cezanne, and it must have cost a lot judging by the frame. Barton had chosen well. Tony and Bruce helped him choose a spot and hang it, and then made him promise to let JARVIS record Phil's reaction that night.

Clint showed him the footage the next day as they sat in the team kitchen eating pancakes for lunch. Tony figured Clint's grin as he watched the footage was proof that his surprise had worked.

Later, Tony was fixing a drink for Phil while Clint was off on a SHIELD thingy.

"You know, it's almost payday. Any hints about what Barton's going to buy himself or you this time?" he said, sipping his drink.

Coulson just raised an eyebrow.

"Oh come on, he buys himself something cool every few paychecks and it's been a few months. I'm just wondering what's next."

Coulson sighed. "I don't know. He hasn't mentioned anything lately. Why do you care?"

Tony shrugged. "I think it's interesting. He can be a dick about what he gets, but sometimes it's endearing. I've decided to turn it into a betting game. Bruce thinks the next one will be a game system with one of those hunting games on it, Steve said he'd get a new bike helmet 'cause he thinks Clint's is too old, and I'm betting on some really expensive scotch, but that's me being selfish again."

Coulson chuckled. "He didn't used to do this, you know. It was only after moving over here that it started."

"Why?"

Coulson was quiet for a minute, and then he looked up at Tony. "He went from an orphanage to a circus to the streets to the Army to the streets again and then to SHIELD. See a pattern in terms of living environments?"

"Barton was an orphan?" Tony said. He'd known about the circus, but add 'orphan' in and it explained a lot about Clint's personality. Deflecting, being a clown, being a badass, well, Tony could see all of that stemming back to getting shuffled around a lot as a kid.

Coulson nodded. "Yeah, and I'm just saying, this is probably his first real home."

"Why? He'd have had his own place with SHIELD and even the Army depending on what he was doing."

"Quarters. The Army and SHIELD had quarters. Nothing to decorate, not enough space to collect 'stuff,' and nothing to do there except sleep. You gave him his first apartment." Coulson paused. "For the record I was going to ask him to move in with me before SHEILD decided to get rid of my place when I was declared legally dead. But this seemed like a better place, after."

Tony was a little stunned. "He couldn't get an apartment all that time he was working for SHIELD?"

"He could have, but he didn't. He hadn't had any practice. I think SHIELD was just safer, easier for him. He did spend a lot of time at my place after we got together, but nothing consistent and it was mine. This place is ours, and he can feel it. I've been meaning to thank you again for all of this, by the way."

Tony just shrugged. "It's good for all of us."

They shared their drink and Coulson headed back to his apartment.

Tony decided to shop.

A few days after Barton got back from his mission, Tony hauled a box to his apartment door. He knew Coulson was still at SHIELD, so he knocked and waited for Clint.

"Hey, Stark," Clint said as he opened the door. He saw the box. "What's that?"

"Can I bring it in?" Tony asked and Clint nodded and opened the door wider. Tony shoved it inside and said, "Open it."

Clint crossed his arms and looked at Tony warily. "What is it?"

"Just open it, Barton!"

"Okay, okay," Clint said, and pulled a knife from his pocket and opened the box. He reached in and discarded the packing materials, and pulled out a framed piece of art. He set it on the table and stepped back, crossing his arms and whistling low. "Holy shit, Tony. That's gorgeous."

Tony grinned. It was an oak framed ink painting of an archer on a mountain at sunset, obviously out west somewhere. The archer was just a shadow, but his form was impeccable and his bow glistened in the light.

Clint leaned over it and looked back at Tony. "Why did you get this for me?" He sounded a little awed.

"Consider it a late housewarming gift. I thought since you got Coulson the Cezanne for out here, you could put this in the bedroom or dining room if you wanted. Sort of claim your own wall," he said, and then started for the door. "I just saw it online and thought you might like it."

Clint looked back at the painting as Tony opened the door, but before he could get away, Clint stepped over and caught his arm. "Thanks, Tony. I mean," he stopped to draw a breath and Tony realized he'd done something big. "No one's ever got me a housewarming gift before. I mean, I've never had a place to decorate before. Seemed pointless in the places I lived. So, thanks. For everything."

Tony nodded and grinned, and then he left, adding "If you want help hanging it later, just text me."

Clint didn't hear him, though, since he'd already turned back to admire the painting.


End file.
